(Vatican Radio) US lawmakers reached a deal on Wednesday to raise the debt ceiling
and fund the US government into next year. Under the terms of the deal, the US Treasury
may borrow money to service already existing debt through February 7 of the coming
year, and fund the government through January 15. The Director of the Rome office
of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Kishore Jayabalan, told
Vatican Radio the broader issues underlying the crisis remain in place. “The debt
ceiling crisis was an extension of a policy disagreement among Republicans and Democrats,”
he explained. Jayabalan went on to say, “Part of the Republican Party wanted to use
Obamacare – which is President Obama’s healthcare reform package, which has been passed
into law – as a tool to have a debate about the size of government and what the United
States government should look like going forward.” The controversial health care reform
legislation has faced many difficulties in its early stages of implementation. Parts
of it are also facing court challenges on constitutional grounds. Listen to Kishore
Jayabalan's extended conversation with Chris Altieri: